'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOLUME II' [‎284r] (572/706)

SHAHS A VAN
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Kazvln and Saveh, and there are also some few families in other parts of
Persia.
Other sub-tribes frequently mentioned are Giklu, Khwaja Khujalins,
and Khwaja Begins.
They do not appear to have any very close inter-tiibal relation, or to
kno w much about each other, and this is probably owing to the fact that, as
General Schindler menti ns in his book, “ Eastern ’Iraq ”, the Shahsavans
i.e., Shah-loving, were formed by Shah ’Abbas I, who banded a number of
Turkish tribes together under th .t name in ord x to break the power of the
32 Kizilbash tribes, some of whom afterwards joined the Shahsavans.
General Schindler speaks of the Shahsavans as the most powerful tribe in Per
sia and men ions the Asaf-ud-Dauleh as their chief. As regards arms and
horses, he thinks that | are well armed and that one man in five has a horse.
Commencing with the Bijhd dls about whom information is more de
tailed, and which is the particular branch that the Cossack Br'gade recruits
from, the Chief of the clan is the Mansur-i-Nizam now serving with the
Cossack Brigade in Tehran.
The clan is divided inf » 26 sub-tribes, numbering from, say, 150 to 400
tents each, grouped u der 6 principal Katkhudds, and the names of the
sub-tribes are as follows :—
1. Sulduz. 14. Kalavand.
2. Kuh Salar. 15. Kalabli.
3. Daulatwand 16. Haji Husainli.
4. Aqquyunll. 17. Kurd.
5. Karuyunli. 18. Miklavanli.
6. Dugir. 19. Yarimishli.
7. Chalabi. 20 Zaghal.
8. Yarajanli. 21. Karamli.
9. Muzafarli. 22. Satall.
10. Kara Muhammadll. 23. Kuturll.
11. Ahmadli. 24. Mihrabli.
12. Qasimli. 25. Haq-i-Jamli.
13. Haji Hasanli. 26. Husain Khanli.
Taking an average of, say, 270 tents to each sub-tribe, the total strength
of the Baghdadi i would amount to roughly 7,000 tents or families, and
this agrees fairly well with two estimates, which were given by the Sipah
Salar and by General Kossagovsky. The former would not be likely to
minimise or the latter to exa gerate their numbers.
It may be estimated that, including the men now furnished to the
Cossack Brigade, the Baghdadi might produce altogether 2,000 fighting
men, of whom 1,000 would be mounted and armed with rifles of sorts.
Ainalu. —The Ainalu are said to number about 10,000 families. The
Asaf-ud-Dauleh, Governor of Shiraz was the head of the clan, but the ma
nagement of it is now entrusted to the Iqbal-i-Sultan, the Asaf-ud-Da Teh’s
son-in-law. The tribe supplies 300 sowars to the Persian Government.
They live between Zinjan and Kazvin and Saveh, and are supposed to be
able to turn out 1,300 mounted men armed with rifles.
Afshar .—The Afshar number about 6,000 families. Their chief is Jahan
Shah Khan, who is now living near the village of Haidar Paighambar on the
road between Hamadan and Zinjan, and has the control of 50 villages.